UPDATED ON 14TH JANUARY 2023
Original 2019 post:
Brexit is ruining the economy of the UK, and as such the exchange rates are getting worse every day. So, I'm doing my best to minimise my expenditure on my Japan holiday before getting there. One of the big purchases outside of hotels and flights is the Japan Rail Pass.
In 2016, I bought a 14 day Japan Rail Pass (whole of Japan) for £287. Just now (2019) I bought one for £334. However, there are other websites selling it for more, up to £345 at last check. So, it can definitely pay to shop around. That being said, there's no central place that lists everywhere selling these passes to the UK. So, here's a list of places I've found selling it, and an example price from 14th January 2023:
If you find any further websites offering Japan Rail Passes, please let me know and I'll add them to this list.
https://www.jrpass.com/ - £195 (7 day) / £308 (14 day)
https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/ - £189 (7 day) / £301 (14 day)
DIRECTLY from https://www.japanrailpass-reservation.net/ - 33,610 YEN roughly £214 (7 day) / £338 (14 day) (see note below)
I've not used all these sites, but they all seem fairly legit. Let me know if any of them do anything shady.
Buckle up!
Peter
P.S. Even if you don't find this useful, I'll be going back to this list for my next trip probably in a couple of years...
2023 update:
I AM! It is now 2023 and I'm going back to Japan. When this post was originally published in 2019, there were many sites offering Japan Rail Passes. Now, there's hardly any, but a new challenger approaches: JR group themselves. For a trial period, it is possible to buy a Japan Rail Pass in Japan while you're there, with the caveat that it's a bit more expensive than buying from a travel agency before arrival. There's no real reason to do that unless you have a bunch of yen in cash lying around. However, they have also introduced the ability to buy on their website directly too for the same slightly higher price (see above). They charge directly in yen, which is why I included that above. The big difference though is that, by using the direct sales option, the same website allows you to make seat reservations for trains in advance, complete with journey planner. If you get a JR East-managed pass, it is possible to make seat reservations on certain trains through JR East's "Eki-net" system, but it doesn't let you book seats with a whole Japan rail pass. If you have some pre-planned trips, I think the extra £25 ish to buy directly online might actually be worth it for the seat bookings so you're not queuing in stations or explaining your trip to the folks in the booking office.
One other thing I want to check once I order the pass is if it's possible to make reservations for "joyful trains" (heritage and/oror tourist trains) which the JR East website can let you book, but not with the whole Japan pass as mentioned.
